News on policy issues

Commenting on the High Court ruling on the Right to be Forgotten and spent convictions case, Christopher Stacey, co-director of Unlock, a national charity for people with convictions, said: “The judgment from the High Court represents a key victory for people with a criminal record. More and more in recent years, people with spent criminal

Unlock and the Standing Committee for Youth Justice (SCYJ) have written to the Justice Select Committee (JSC) regarding our concerns over the Government’s response to the JSC’s inquiry into the disclosure of childhood criminal records. Christopher Stacey, Co-director of Unlock, sets out our concerns that the Government is using the Supreme Court case on DBS

In the government’s updated Homelessness code of practice, it has made clear that convictions that are spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 should be ignored. Chapter 23 focuses on “people with a offending history”, and section 23.29 reads: “23.29 People with an offending history face barriers to accessing accommodation across tenures. Housing authorities providing

Lord Ramsbotham’s Private Members’ Bill on amending the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 will have its Second Reading in the House of Lords tomorrow, Friday 23rd February. The Bill, which would shorten the rehabilitation periods that apply under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA), proposes a number of changes. One of the most significant elements

Update – 1st August 2018 – Changes to the rule come into force and we publish updates to the guidance mentioned below Unlock, a leading independent charity for people with convictions, has today published guidance to help charities, as well as those involved in them, understand and prepare for changes to charity rules and its

From today, the 17th January 2018, basic criminal record checks can now be obtained directly from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) This is a significant development for both people with criminal records and employers in England & Wales. Basic checks are a type of criminal record check that can be used by employers and

Changes to the ‘automatic disqualification’ rules that affect who can run a charity, and particularly people with criminal records, will come into force on 1st August 2018. The current rules only apply to trustees. People with unspent convictions for certain offences, including dishonesty and deception offences, need to be granted a waiver from the Charity

With the disclosure of old and irrelevant criminal records in the spotlight, Christopher Stacey looks at how the system is unfairly holding people back Over four million jobs every year involve employers requesting an enhanced criminal record from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). Although these were originally for roles that involve close contact with

Three-quarters of a million criminal records that are more than a decade old are being revealed to employers on DBS checks each year. That’s one of the findings of a new briefing published by the Centre for Criminal and Justice Studies (CCJS). The research, which we have supported, was featured in The Observer on Sunday

Following the release of the Justice Committee report into disclosure of youth criminal records, The Independent published a letter from Unlock’s Co-director, Christopher Stacey. In his letter Christopher, who gave evidence to the Committee, wrote:- “Thousands of people contact ex-offenders charity Unlock every year because of problems they’re

Unlock responds to Justice Committee report into disclosure of youth criminal records In response to today’s Justice Committee report into the disclosure of youth criminal records, Unlock, a leading independent charity for people with convictions, is calling on the government to drop its legal appeal and get on with reforming the criminal records regime. Christopher